South Wales Variety Branch

GREETINGS ALL OUR MEMBERS: WELCOME TO THE WEB PAGES OF THE SOUTH WALES VARIETY BRANCH

NEW:In order to keep this page uncluttered, our 2017 items have been archived here and 2016 items can be viewed here

And after years of frustrating tinkering I am finally able to get images to work on our pages - more or less as they should.I have tested this on several web browsers but nothing is certain in the webmaster's world. Please let me know if you have any issues.So gentle folks... Meet your new committee hereTR

SWVB – AGM Report

There was a disappointingly low turnout for our AGM this year. Could be the aftermath of the recent poor weather or maybe it was just one of those things. Not even the free coffee and welshcakes persuaded our members to show up this year.That was a great pity as our guest for the evening, actor Huw Davies, proved to be one of the most interesting and informative speakers we have had for some time. Apart from being an experienced actor and writer, Huw - along with his wife Luan, run The Stagecoach drama and dancing school at Swansea. He shared with us a little of what that entails as well as numerous other life-changing episodes from his chequered past.

Despite the poor turnout, Huw assured us that he thoroughly enjoyed himself. That’s good to know. Thank you Huw. We all did.

AGM 2018:

Very little has changed following this year’s committee elections. This is how we are now:

Our South Wales Variety Branch’s AGM will be held this year on Tuesday March 6th . At the usual venue. Tyn y Twr at Baglan. We will have our normal members’ Branch meeting at 7:30 pm with the main event upstairs at 8:00 pm. Please come along if you possibly can make it. And try to be there in good time.

Also, we have a really exciting guest speaker who has agreed to join us this year. An experienced television and stage actor in both Welsh and English languages. It’s Swansea’s Huw Davies, who - along with his wife Luan are the the founders of the Swansea branch of Stagecoach. Together they have coached their pupils for almost 20 years and they continue to provide singing, dancing and drama coaching for young children and teenagers - many of whom have gone on to become professionals in their field.

Huw also writes Stagecoach Swansea's main school shows and oversees the LAMDA tuition to the students. He is probably one of the most professional people I have had the great pleasure to know. He has been a professional actor for thirty years and counting. He speaks fluent Welsh and has worked in numerous productions and he is equally at home working with both languages.

TV credits include 'The Bench', 'A Mind To Kill', award winning films, 'Care' and 'Streetlife' as well as many S4C series including several stints with 'Pobol-Y-Cwm'. His theatre work includes 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 'Kes', 'Table Manners', 'The Corn is Green' with Patricia Routledge, 'Stowaway' and 'Romeo and Juliet'. He is currently on S4C's new drama "Parch" as the character Terwyn.

So come along and have a chat with him. What this guy doesn’t know about our business is probably not worth knowing. On top of that he’s an all-round nice guy!

Parts of the recent fund raiser that we organised for the Paul Ridd Foundation was filmed by Dave Thomas and edited by me. The show was enjoyed by all and sundry. Thank you everyone for your time.Check it out here: https://youtu.be/Rx2F3ClHVX4TR

We are delighted to welcome all members living, working or just passing through South Wales to our monthly Branch meetings. We meet on the FIRST TUESDAY of every month at:TYN-Y-TWR TAVERN, ST ILLTYD’S CLOSE, BAGLANPORT TALBOT SA12 8AU. (7:30 PM.) *** EXCLUDING JULY AND AUGUST. ***

Please do your best to attend any of our meetings.It would be great to see newer/ younger members attending as we need to get more insight into what you expect from the Union & the business. The internet is great for keeping in touch but so much more can be be acheived by meeting face to face & getting to know fellow artists. We usually have an enjoyable mix of business and pleasure. (And we don't bite!) Hope to see you there.

To find out more about the Branch call our Branch Secretary: SHELLI DAWN on +44 1685 812779

Equity has a vital network of branches throughout the UK which give members a voice in the union and much more. Branches are set up by the Equity Council to give members in local areas the opportunity to meet regularly to discuss issues of common concern and to have a focal point.Members are invited to join their local branch to share views and experiences, put proposals to Equity's ruling body, organise a programme of social events and raise money for local charities.Equity Student members are also very welcome at meetings. Student members can also volunteer to take an active role in branch activities by standing for election as committee members and other important roles.Branch Secretaries also give local advice to members in their area and those who are visiting, and some branches now have their own websites which include local news and directories of branch members.